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TO THE MEMORY OF
FARROKH ERACH BHARUCHA
In token of years of happy friendship, cultured advice
and shrewd guidance which were at all times invaluable
H I §L
PREFACE TO TFIE THIRD REVISED EDITION
IN the course of preparing this volume for a third printing, the opportunity has been taken to revise the letterpress and
certain additions have also been made to some of the chapters. A few more illustrations have been introduced,
ant. where better photographs have become available these have replaced the prints originally provided.
Tangier p B
PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION
THE first issue of this book being almost immediately exhausted, the steady demand for a reprint has led to
its reproduction in the form of a second edition.
In his new publication, apart irom a general revision of the original work, several chapters have been added
dealing with the architecture of the countries adjacent to India, and specially including those referred to as “Greater
India.” It is believed that in its expanded form, the volume may prove of greater value in view of this more
comprehensive treatment of the subject.
Srinagar, Kashmir p B
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION
IT was the original intention to produce this work on INDIAN ARCHITECTURE in one volume, and the
letterpress with the material as a whole was prepared accordingly. In the course of publication, however,
it was found expedient to modify this plan, and to bring the work out not only in two separate volumes
but in the form of two independent books. The first of these confines itself to the Early, Buddhist and Brabmanical
aspect of the subject, and is therefore entitled “INDIAN ARCHITECTURE, BUDDHIST and HINDU” while
the second deals with the development of Moslem architecture in India up to modern times and is entitled “INDIAN
ARC HIT EC 1 URE, 1 HE ISLAMIC PERIOD.” It is believed that the issue of the work in this manner will enable
it to be more conveniently studied and handled more easily than if it were produced in one rather bulky volume.
A considerable number of authorities and others have been referred to from time to time for verification
of certain passages in this work, but it is not possible for all these to be mentioned by name, although my thanks
are herewith recorded to one and all. In addition to these inquiries for information, the following, among others,
have been instrumental in providing photographs for the illustrations : the Director General of Archaeology in
India, and the Superintendents of the various circles of the Archaeological Survey; the Archaeology Departments
of the Independent States such as Hyderabad, Baroda, Mysore, Gwalior and Kashmir ; the Superintendents of
Museums as for instance Madras, Bombay and Muttra, and the South Indian Railway Co., Ltd. In all cases while
acknowledging my indebtedness, it should be emphasized that the photographs supplied are copyright by each of
the institutions named.
It is only my duty, however, to express my gratitude for the special help I have received from the following :
Mr. Farrokh E. Rharucha for reading the manuscript and giving me the benefit of his valuable advice as to the form
of the work and other relative matters ; to my draftsman Babu Nityananda Das Ray for the skilful and intelligent
manner in which he has worked lrom my sketches and drawings to produce many of the illustrations ; to Messrs.
Taraporevala for their enthusiastic co-operation in the work of publication at a very difficult time, and the willing
acceptance of my occasionally exacting demands ; and, finally, to the Hon’ble Mr. Justice Edgley, I.C.S., not only
for some carefully considered deductions relating to the chronology of the rock-architecture which will be found
in an Appendix, but also for so readily undertaking the labour of correcting the proofs.
Calcutta P B>
' 4' * ' , ' * ‘ ' t t ‘ ' , *
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INDIAN ARCHITECTURE
(Buddhist and Hindu Periods)
BY
PERCY BROWN
A.R.C.A., F.R.A.S B.
Formerly Secretary and Curator, Victoria Memorial Hall,
Calcutta, Principal of the Government School of Art,
and Keeper of the Government Art Gallery, Calcutta
With Over 500 Drawings, Photographs and Maps
BOMBAY
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“TREASURE HOUSE OF BOOKS”
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PUBLISHED BY JAL HIRJI D. TARAPOREVALA, FOR D, B, TARAPOREVALA SONS & CO. PRIVATE LTD., BOMBAY
AND PRINTED BY ISAAC N. ISAAC AT VAKIL & SONS (PRIVATE) LTD., 18 BALLARD ESTATE
NARANDAS BUILDING, SPROTT ROAD, BOMBAY.
A y
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Conjectural reconstruction of the Main Gateway to the ancient city of Kusinagara (cir. B.C, 300) in Magadha (Bihar). Adapted from a bas-relief on the
Southern Gateway of the Great Stupa at Sanchi, Bhopal State.
(
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INDIAN ARCHITECTURE
(Buddhist and Hindu)
Fourth Edition
v
( C H ) ( s i
PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED WORKS
INDIAN JEWELLERY, ORNAMENTS AND DECORATIVE DESIGNS. By J. B. Bhushan.
With 3 Colour Plates Depicting 10 Designs, 471 Line
Drawings and over 360 Half-tone Illustrations,
INDIAN ARCHITECTURE. By Percy Brown.
Vol. 1 — Hindu & Buddhist Periods. With over 500 Illustrations.
Vol. 2 —• Islamic Period. With over 250 Illustrations.
EPICS, MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF INDIA. By P. Thomas.
With Coloured Frontispiece and 286 Illustrations.
HINDU RELIGION, CUSTOMS & MANNERS. By P. Thomas.
With Coloured Frontispiece and 260 Illustrations.
100 BEAUTIFUL TREES OF INDIA. By Charles McCann.
With 101 Coloured Plates. Many Line Drawings.
THE RUBAIYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM. Text by Fitzgerald.
Portfolio of 30 Plates. By M. Sett.
INDIA’S ARMY. By Major Jackson.
With 14 Plates in Colour. Many Monochrome Illustrations.
PAINTINGS OF ISHWAR DASS
Album of 12 Colour Plates. Introduction by Manu Thacker.
THE GOLDEN AGE OF INDIAN ART. By P. Rambach and V. Golish.
With 6 Colour Plates. 121 Photographs, 26 Diagrams, etc.
KAMA KALPA (The Hindu Ritual of Love). By P. Thomas.
With Coloured Frontispiece and 224 Illustrations.
THE CHARM OF INDO-ISLAMIC ARCHITECTURE. By John Terry.
With 61 Illustrations.
THE DESIGN DEVELOPMENT OF INDIAN ARCHITECTURE. By Claude Batley.
With many full-sized plates of measured Drawings and Details.
THE ARTS AND CRAFTS OF INDIA & PAKISTAN. By Shanti Swarup.
Superbly Illustrated in Colour and Monochrome.
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With 17 Illustrations in Colour, 360 in Monochrome and 702 Line Drawings.
INDIA IN COLOUR. Introduction by Mulk Raj Anand.
With 73 Large Colour Photographs by Suzanne Hausammann.
SHADOWS FROM INDIA. Photographs and Text by Roderick Cameron.
With 199 Large Photogravure Plates.
PICTURESQUE INDIA AND THE EAST. Essay and Notes by Michael Edwardes.
With 128 Photographs including 28 in Colour by H. Keusen.
IMMORTAL INDIA. Photographs by Alfred Nawrath.
With 12 Colour and 106 Black and white Photographs.
GEETA GOVIND IN BASOHLl SCHOOL OF INDIAN PAINTING.
Foreword by Dr. Rajendra Prasad. Introduction by R. P. N. Sinha.
With 8 Colour Plates and 4 Monochrome Illustrations.
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210, DR. DADABHAi NAOROJI ROAD, FORT, BOMBAY.
III §L
CONTENTS
Ckafthr Page
INTRODUCTION
I. THE INDUS CIVILISATION (cir. B.C. 3000-2000) ................................................. ... i
THE VEDIC CULTURE (cir. B.C. 1500-800)
II. BUILDING DURING THE RULE OF THE EARLY MAURYAN DYNASTY
(cir. 400 B.C.) : WOODEN ORIGINS........................... ... ... ........................... 5
III. ASOKA, AND THE BEGINNINGS OF THE BUDDHIST SCHOOL (cir, 250 B.C.) ... 7
IV. THE BUILDING ART UNDER THE SUNGAS AND ANDHRAS (cir. 185 B.C. to
A.D. 150) ...................................................................................................................................... ,3
V. BUDDHIST ROCK-CUT ARCHITECTURE : THE EARLY OR HINAYANA PHASE
(2nd CENTURY B.C. TO 2nd CENTURY A.D.) ....................................... ............... 19
VI. ROCK-CUT ARCHITECTURE ...................................................................................................... 27
THE HINAYANA BUDDHIST VIHARAS OR MONASTERIES
THE ROCK ARCHITECTURE OF ORISSA (2nd CENTURY B.C.)
VII. THE MAHAYANA OR THEIST1C BUDDHIST MONASTERIES OF GANDHARA
(250 B.C. to A.D. 450) 3I
VIII. BUDDHIST ARCHITECTURE IN SOUTHERN INDIA (200B.C. to 4th CENTURY A.D.) 36
IX. BUILDINGS IN BRICK ............................................................................... 40
X. THE GUPTA PERIOD (cir. A.D. 350 to 650) ... ............................................................... 47
XL CHALUKYAN ARCHITECTURE : ITS BEGINNINGS AT AIHOLE AND BADAMI
(cir. A.D. 450 to 650) «p
XII. THE ROCK-CUT ARCHITECTURE OF THE MAHAYANA BUDDHISTS (cir. A.D. 450
t0 642> 56
XIII. EVOLUTION OF THE TEMPLE.................................................................................................. 62
XIV. THE EARLY CHALUKYAN PHASE AT AIHOLE, BADAMI, AND PATTADAKAL
(A.D. 600 to 750) 67
XV. ROCK ARCHITECTURE : THE FINAL PHASE (A.D. 600 to 900) 71
XVI. THE DRAVIDIAN STYLE : ITS GENESIS UNDER THE PALLAVAS (cir. A.D. 600
to 900) jj
XVII. THE DRA VIDIAN STYLE
THE TEMPLES OF THE CHOLAS (A.D. 900 to 1150) ........................... ............... 84
111 §L
/>V ^ N V\ / n
VIII CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
XVIII. THE DRAVIDIAN STYLE
UNDER THE PANDYAS (cir. A.D. 1100 to 1350) ............................................................. 88
XIX. THE DRA VIDIAN STYLE
UNDER THE VIJAYANAGAR DYNASTY (cir. A.D. 1350 to 1565)...................................... 91
XX. THE DRAVIDIAN STYLE (Concluded)
MADURA : THE FINAL PHASE (From cir. A.D. 1600) ................................................. 95
XXI. THE NORTHERN, OR INDO-ARYAN STYLE
ORISSA (A.D. 800 to 1250)........................................................................................................... 101
XXII. THE NORTHERN, OR INDO-ARYAN STYLE
THE KHAJURAHO GROUP, CENTRAL INDIA (A.D. 950 to 1050) .......................... 110
) XXIII. THE NORTHERN, OR INDO-ARYAN STYLE
RAiPUTANA AND CENTRAL INDIA (8th to 11 th CENTURIES) .......................... 114
XXIV. THE NORTHERN, OR INDO-ARYAN STYLE
GUJARAT AND THE WEST (A.D. 941 to 1311) ............................................................. 117
XXV. THE NORTHERN, OR INDO-ARYAN STYLE
THE TEMPLES OF THE DECCAN (11th to 13th CENTURIES) .......................... ... 125
XXVI. THE NORTHERN, OR INDO-ARYAN STYLE (Concluded)
TEMPLES AT GWALIOR (1 1th CENTURY) AND BRINDABAN (16tii CENTURY) ... 128
XXVII. TEMPLES WITH GABLED OR MULTIPLE ROOFS .............................................131
XXVIII. THE TEMPLE CITIES OF THE .TAINS.................................................................................... 134
XXIX. THE LATER CHALUKYAN, OR HOYSALA STYLE (A.D. 1050 to 1300) 138
XXX. LATER CHALUKYAN STYLE (cir. A.D. 1050 to 1300) ...................................... 144
XXXI. THE BRAHMANICAL BUILDINGS OF BENGAL (8th to 17th CENTURIES).............. 149
XXXII. KASHMIR
THE BUDDHIST AND BRAHMANICAL REMAINS (A.D. 200 to 1300).......................... 154
XXXIII. THE BUILDING ART OF NEPA1................................................................................... ... 162
XXXIV. THE CAPITAL CITIES OF CEYLON ................................................................................... 166
XXXV. THE “ PAGODAS ” OF BURMA................................................................................................ 173
XXXVI. GREATER INDIA : CAMBODIA .................................................................................... 178
XXXVII. GREATER INDIA : SIAM.......................................................................................................... 187
XXXVIII. GREATER INDIA : THE BUILDINGS OF THE CHAMS. (Annam, French Indo-China)... 191
XXXIX. GREATER INDIA : JAVA AND BALI................................................................................... 193
APPENDIX ......................................................................................................... 200
CHRONOLOGY ............................................... 204
GLOSSARY OF TERMS ........................................................................................................... 205
BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................. 210
INDEX................................................................................... ... ...................................... 211
REFERENCE BOOKS. A list of these will be found at the end of each chapter. There is a short General
Bibliography at the end of the book.
r \
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LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FRONTISPIECE CONJECTURAL RECONSTRUCTION OF THE MAIN GATEWAY TO THE ANCIENT
CITY OF KUSH1NAGARA (cir. B.C. 500) in MAOADHA. ADAPTED FROM A BAS-RELIEF
ON THE SOUTHERN GATEWAY OF THE GREAT STUPA AT SANCHI, BHOPAL STATE.
PLATE FIGURE FACING
NUMBER NUMBER PAGE
I. 1 A VEDIC VILLAGE c. B.C. 500 ......................... ............. ............................................. 2
2,3,4 & 5 WOODEN ORIGINS................................................................................................................ ... 2
II. 1 MAP OF INDIA SHOWING EARLY AND BUDDHIST SITES ............................................... 3
2 MAP OF INDIA SHOWING PRINCIPAL INDO-ARYAN AND DRAVIDIAN SITES................ 3
III. CONJECTURAL RECONSTRUCTION OF THE WOODEN ORIGINAL FROM WHICH THE
ROCK-CUT CHAITYA-HALL AND VlHARA AT KONDANE, BOMBAY, WERE COPIED,
B. C. 200 ...................................................................................................................................... 4
IV. EXAMPLES OF WOODEN CONSTRUCTION EXTRACTED FROM ROCK-CUT
EXAMPLES...................................................................................................................................... 4
V. CONJECTURAL ORIGINS : DETAILS.......................... 5
VI. RECONSTRUCTION OF THE CIRCULAR TEMPLE AT BAIRAT, JAIPUR, c. 2nd CENT. B.C. 5
VII. I SARNATH, BENARES, CAPITAL (RESTORED) OF MONOLITHIC COLUMN, ASOKAN
c. B.C. 250 ........................................................................................................................... ... 6
2 BAALBEK, SYRIA, LION-HEADED SPOUT, ROMAN, 2nd CENTURY A.D............................. 6
3 BUDH GAYA. BIHAR. CARVED STONE BORDER FROM THRONE, ASOKAN, c. B.C. 250. 6
4 RAMPURVA, BIHAR. BORDER FROM MONOLITHIC COLUMN, ASOKAN, c. B.C. 250... 6
5 SANCHI, BHOPAL, CAPITALS FROM NORTHERN GATEWAY c. 25 B.C................................ 6
VIH. 1 to 8 TODA HUT ..................................... 7
INTERIORS FROM ROCK-CUT EXAMPLES............................................................................... 7
IX. BARABAR HILLS, BIHAR : ROCK-CUT CELLS, 3rd CENTURY B.C........................................ 8
1 LOMAS RISHI, FACADE................................................................................................................ 8
2 SUDAMA : ROCK-CUT IMITATION OF PLANKING IN INTERIOR ......................... ... 8
3 SUDAMA : ROCK-CUT EAVE OF INTERIOR........................................................................ 8
X. TYPES OF EARLY CAPITALS ..................................................................................................... 9
XI. I toll EVOLUTION OF DRAVLDIAN CAPITAL ... ... ... ... ... ... ............, 12
12 PLAN OF DUMBAL TEMPLE AT DODDABA SAVANNA ... ................................... 12
XU. 1 DIAGRAM OF GREAT STUPA AT SANCHI, B.C. AND A.D...................................................... 12
2 CONJECTURAL RESTORATION OF TEMPLE No. 18 AT SANCHI, A.D. 650 .......................... 12
XIII. 1 BARABAR HILLS, BIHAR: LOMAS RISHI (c. 250 B.C.) ... .................................... ... 13
2 BUDH GAYA: RAILINGS (c. 75 B.C.) ... ......................................................... ... 13
3 BARHUT STUPA: UPPER PART OF GATEWAY (c. 150 B.C.)....................... 13
4 BUDH GAYA : ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS ON RAILING PILLAR (c. 1st CENT. A.D.) ... 13
XIV. ' VARIOUS FORMS OF STUPA ........................................................................................... 13
XV. SANCHI, BHOPAL NORTHERN GATEWAY, (PARTIALLY RESTORED) OF GREAT
STUPA: 1st CENTURY B.C. ... .................................... ... .............. ............. 16
XVI. EARLY TYPES OF TEMPLES ... ................................................................................. 16
XVII. STUPAS AND MONASTERIES AT SANCHI........................................................................ 17
XVIII. PRIMITIVE SHRINES FROM EARLY BAS-RELIEFS ,...................... ........................ 17
XIX. SECT ION IN PERSPECTIVE OF THE ROCK-CUT BUDDHIST CHAITYA-HALL AT KARLI,
c. 1st CENTURY, B.C..................................................................................................................... 20
XX. CHA1TYA-HALLS, EARLY OR HINAYANA SERIES, 2nd CENTURY B.C. TO 2nd
CENTURY AD................... 20
XXL CHATTYA-HALLS, EARLY OR HINAYANA SERIES, 2nd CENTURY B.C. TO 2nd
CENTURY A.D................................................................................................................................. 21
XXII. FACADES OF ROCK-CUT CHA1TYA-HALLS, 2nd CENTURY B.C...................................... 21
1 BHAJA.......................................................................................................................................... 21
2 KONDANE ................................... ... .,. ..................................................................... 21
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